CV

Jonathan Charles Evans

Lead Designer • Live Ops Lead • Creative Lead

Email: jogo@jogosity.com  Threads: @Jogosity  LinkedIn: Jonathan Evans

Lead Game Designer with 28 years shipped experience across console, mobile, UGC and live-ops. Most recently at Meta, I led Live Ops and monetisation on several Horizon Worlds games, including launching monetisation as a platform feature. Specialist in finding the fun early, then building the systems, economy and content cadence to keep it live. 

Key Skills

Creative:

  • Game concept and system design
  • Team leadership and feature management
  • Live-Ops design and strategy
  • Narrative Design
  • Original IP creation

Leadership:

  • Feature ownership
  • Scrum Leadership
  • Staff recruitment and mentoring
  • Production management

Technical:

  • Technical Design
  • Level scripting

Experience

Meta • Game Designer • February 2024 to August 2026

  • Led Live Ops for Profit or Perish — owned content cadence, schedule, economy tuning and cross-discipline delivery with Data Science, Art and Code.
  • Co-designed the core game from inception — defined gameplay, UX and “find the fun” prototyping for an LLM-driven social game.
  • Led monetisation strategy for Kaiju City Showdown, helping launch monetisation as a platform feature on mobile Horizon Worlds

Meta • Marketing Game Designer • March 2022 to January 2024

  • Joined the Unit 2 Games publishing team to work on the game-and-world UGC platform, Crayta.
  • Worked as producer with community designers on improving their games to make them suitable for the Facebook Gaming platform.

Rebellion Warwick • Senior Designer • November 2017 to February 2022

  • Level Designer on Sniper Elite 5 — co-owned “War Factory” level from whitebox to ship: layout, objectives scripting, collision, art direction
  • Co-led system design for new Horde Mode in Zombie Army 4; designed and implemented 5 Horde maps including enemy population and event scripting
  • Created a major campaign level with new mechanics (“Death Collector”) blending open-world and Horde action
  • Supervised external team on Horde Map delivery — milestones, weekly reviews, technical support and training

Radiant Worlds • Senior Designer • Aug 2016 to Nov 2017

  • Created the rolling Events system for SkySaga: Infinite Isles.
  • Designed and implemented FTUE menu-flow and video tutorial systems 

Team Lumo • Lead Designer and Co-Founder • March 2014 to July 2016

  • Created, developed and launched 2 original games – Lumo Deliveries Inc. and Lumo’s Cat.
  • Designed and implemented all game levels
  • Led meta-game and economy design

SEGA Hardlight • Level Designer and Script Writer • Nov 2013 to March 2014 • Contract

  • Level design for all primary missions on Crazy Taxi: City Rush
  • Wrote narrative scripts and storyboards for cutscenes
  • Contributed to game structure and progression design

Modern Dream • Lead Designer • Sep 2013 to October 2013 • Post-Blitz project resurrection

  • Led technical design to convert Typing of the Dead: Overkill from light-gun shooter to text-shooter
  • Led the text writing process
  • Converted, edited and re-balanced 3 complete levels
  • Contributed to client contact before and after project resurrection

Blitz Games Ltd • Design Manager • Jul 2004 to Sep 2013

  • Game design leadership and team management across 8 projects
  • Took charge of game system design and level design – notable achievements include:
    • Created Kumo Lumo, an original iOS game – brought to market as Blitz’s first mobile title.
    • Led design on a live, server-based environmental game including true-to-life ecology
    • Led design team on Kinect launch-window title; including interaction design and game design
    • Designed a procedural “natural language” feedback system for American Idol games
  • Clients include SEGA, Google, Bandai-Namco, Konami, Microsoft and more

Blitz Games Ltd • Designer/Artist • Jun 1998 to Jun 2004

  • Game design, level design and scripting
  • Directed cutscenes on several projects.

Attributes and Soft Skills

  • Creativity and Vision – Creating and delivering new ideas, games and narratives from my own “blank page” – or developing ideas from within the team and client structure.
  • Practicality – Turning a great idea into a fully functional, polished feature, creating tasks, proposing technical requirements and offering direction to the team.
  • Team Collaboration and Cross Discipline Working – Excellent track record of partnering with the Code, Art and UI/UX teams as well as the live-ops teams. I am also very comfortable working alongside the wider structure of publishing, marketing and corporate partners.

 

 Human Stuff

After 28 years in the game industry, I am perhaps more enthused and passionate than ever about creating high quality games, stories and experiences. When I am away from the controller I enjoy reading and writing. I am an enthusiastic fiction writer with short stories and a completed (to first draft) novel in the can.

Away from the desk I love walking, cycling, photography, astronomy, theatre and cinema, going to the gym and general family life.

If I wasn’t making games then I probably would be writing novels or comics because I don’t really know how to do anything apart from making things up. So far this has worked out well for me.

Personal Projects

TDX – Tower Defence with a slice of RTS and a side serving of cyber punk narrative.

https://jogosity.github.io/TDX

Public Speaking

  • GDC Europe (Cologne 2015) – Fear Love and Great Big Ideas (91% positive reviews, 3rd best in design track 
  • Pocket Gamer Connects (London 2016) – What Kind of an Indie Dev Are You?
  • Pocket Gamer Connects (London 2015) – Design from the Heart

Full Game Credits

(see Games Portfolio for more details)

Meta: March 2022 to August 2026

  • Profit or Perish – Game Designer (Senior Design / Live Ops Lead)
  • Kaiju City Showdown – Game Designer (Senior Designer/Monetisation DRI)
  • Crayta – Marketing Game Designer

Rebellion: November 2017 to February 2022

  • Sniper Elite 5 – Senior Designer
  • Zombie Army 4: Dead War – Senior Designer 

Radiant Worlds: August 2016 to November 2017

  • SkySaga: Infinite Isles – Senior Designer/Scrum Lead

Lumo Developments Ltd (Co-Founder): March 2014 to July 2016

  • Lumo’s Cat & the Co-op Collider (2016)  Apple TV- Design Director
  • Lumo’s Cat (2015) iOS – Design Director
  • Lumo Deliveries Inc. (2014) iOS – Design Director

SEGA Hardlight: November 2013 to March 2014 (Contract)

  • Crazy Taxi: City Rush (2014) iOS/Android – Level Designer & Writer

Modern Dream: September to October 2013 (Contract)

  • The Typing of the Dead Overkill (2013) – Design Manager & Writer

Blitz Games Studios: 1998 to September 2013.

  • Kumo Lumo (2012) iOS – Creator and Design Manager
  • Land for the Lorax (2011) – Web – Design Manager
  • Yoostar 2 – In the Movies (2010) – Design Manager
  • Karaoke Revolution Series – (2004 – 2009) – 4 Titles – Design Manager
  • Pac-Man World 3 – (2004) Design Manager
  • Bad Boys 2 – (2003) – Senior Designer/Scrum Leader
  • Fairly Odd Parents – Shadow Showdown (2003) – Cutscene Director
  • Zapper (2002) – Assistant Manager
  • Fuzion Frenzy – (2001) Xbox Exclusive Launch Title – Designer/3D Artist

Education

BA (Hons) Animation – University of Wales – Graduated in 1997

(Course taken at Newport School of Art & Design which was merged into the University of Wales whilst I was studying.)